ISLAMABAD, Nov 15: Opposition parties in the Senate accused the government on Tuesday of failing to maintain law and order as both sides condemned a car bomb blast in Karachi that killed three people and injured 15 others as an act of terrorism.
“The government has totally failed in its constitutional duty to safeguard the life and property of the people,” said Leader of the Opposition Raza Rabbani while initiating a brief discussion in which Minister of State for Interior Shahzad Waseem assured the house that the government would “reach the culprits soon and bring them to justice”.
Mr Rabbani complained about prevalence of the “law of the jungle” because of what he called the government’s “direct patronage of warlords” and other policies.
He urged the government to a review its pro-Western foreign policy, which he said had created more enemies for the country and brought only insufficient help after Pakistan’s worst earthquake disaster. He also called for a halt to the alleged witch-hunt of political opponents.
Prof Ghafoor Ahmed of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) described the bombing as the work of “enemies of the country” and said since the government had been engaged in activities against its political opponents it had failed to get hold of criminals.
Mr Waseem said two teams of senior police officers were investigating the incident and assured the house that the government would not rest until it had rooted out terrorism.
In another development, the upper house renewed its call for the suspension of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) secretary Dr Sohail Hashmi for what several senators saw as an objectionable role in a row over issuance of degrees to the graduates of private medical colleges.
Health Minister Mohammad Naseer Khan said the council had not implemented the house resolution for the suspension of Mr Hashmi and noted that he had returned back after a six-month leave.
After some protests mainly from the treasury benches, Senate Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro asked the minister to ensure compliance of the resolution within two days while he asked for an early report of a house committee probing the issue for reforms.
But some opposition members counselled caution in interfering in the affairs of an autonomous institution.
The government’s performance in relief work after the devastating Oct 8 earthquake in Azad Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province came under scrutiny in a continuing debate on the issue before the house was adjourned until 3pm on Wednesday.
Awami National Party leader Asfandyar Wali, the main speaker of the opposition, accused the government of failing to arrange proper distribution of relief goods generously supplied by Pakistani people who, he said, had “reacted (for help) irrespective of their political creed or area from Karachi to Chitral”. He also complimented non-governmental organizations for reaching distant places to serve quake victims.
Mohim Khan Baloch of the pro-government Balochistan National Party (Awami) defended the government’s role, but called for associating political parties in the relief effort, while MMA’s Mohammad Azam Khan Swati demanded better coordination of relief supplies to ensure that help reached the needy and was not grabbed by those not affected by the quake.
Dr Nighat Agha of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League defended the role of the government and the armed forces but said the tragedy was so big that all stricken areas could not be reached immediately.
